


A Nervous Kind of Love

by sagemyfanwy8



Series: Clawhauser and Bogo [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Fluff, I had to write a story about them, M/M, Romance, these two are so cute I cant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 16:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7395193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagemyfanwy8/pseuds/sagemyfanwy8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benjamin Clawhauser and Chief Bogo have harboured secret feelings towards each other since the day they met, and these feelings finally come into play when events in Zootopia directly effect their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bad News for Both

**Author's Note:**

> So this is pretty much my first time writing fanfic, so sorry if it's a little weird! I hope you can enjoy it though!

Benjamin Clawhauser was no newcomer to bad days; as an officer for the Zootopia Police Department, bad days came and went. However, today was by far one of the worst days of his life. Benjamin never thought that this whole missing mammal case would amount to any prejudice against predators; and yet, it seemed the whole world was out to prove him wrong. He slowly packed away the items that lay on his desk and sniffled a bit as he thought about how things had changed so quickly. He carefully placed the last object from his desk into the little cardboard box when out of the corner of his eye saw Officer Hopps walking with Chief Bogo. He gazed intensely at Bogo (who seemed to be avoiding his eyesight), searching for any hint of emotion behind his deep brown eyes, when the sound of Judy’s voice snapped him back to reality.  
“Clawhauser?”  
He gave no response, and instead looked down solemnly at his desk.  
“What are you doing?” Judy asked tenderly.  
His voice began to shake as he responded. “They thought it would be better if a, uh, predator such as myself wasn't the first face that you see when you walk into the ZPD.”  
He struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to break the floodgates.  
“What?”  
“They're gonna move me to records. It's downstairs. It's by the boiler.”  
Judy gave him a sympathetic glance which was abruptly interrupted when Bogo cleared his throat loudly, yelled “Hopps!”, and beckoned towards the door. Judy and the Chief went through the doors of the police station, leaving Benjamin alone in the nearly empty station. At that moment, the tears began streaming down his face in an endless torrent.  
‘How could Bogo not even look at me? He didn't even throw a glance in my direction.’  
Benjamin felt an aching in his chest. Ever since the moment he laid eyes on the Chief he had the biggest crush on him. He knew that nothing could ever come of the feelings he felt towards Bogo; in spite of this, he let those feelings tear him apart inside. He felt as if the Chief didn't care for him at all.  
‘I mean, it's obvious at this point. If he cared, he would have talked to me or something after he gave me the bad news.’  
Clawhauser skulked down to the stairs that led to the basement. He could still feel the tears that clung to his fur, but he had stopped crying by now. He readjusted his grip on the box of his personal belongings and headed into the darkness that lie below. Today really was the worst day of his life.

The previous day...

Bogo couldn't believe it. When he received the email straight from the mayor's office he was in utter disbelief. I mean, who in their right mind would consider Clawhauser a “menace to society”? He was the sweetest, kindest, most adorable…  
Well, it seemed that none of that really mattered to the mayor. Bellwether called for his immediate resignation from the ZPD. She claimed that the “police force was no place for a predator of his sorts”. This whole case had really blown everything out of proportion. Every day, predators lives just seemed to get worse and worse. More cases of predators going savage were popping up all across the city; even worse, animals were calling for predators removal from Zootopia entirely. But Clawhauser? No, there wasn't a single bit of savage in him. There was no way he would let Clawhauser be removed from the force. The thought of Clawhauser’s face when he would receive the news, utter sadness playing across his face, crushed him inside. No, he was going to give Mayor Bellwether a piece of his mind...

Bogo threw himself into the squad car and slammed the door with all of his might. He rubbed his temple with his hooves and crashed his hand down on the steering wheel.  
“That could've gone better,” Bogo slowly exhaled as he laid his head against the wheel. He had argued with Mayor Bellwether for nearly two hours, and the best he could do for poor Clawhauser was get him moved down to records. It hurt his heart to think that he'd have to tell that lovable cheetah that other animals considered him dangerous to the point he could no longer be the receptionist for the ZPD. Yes, Bogo had saved him from having to resign, but he couldn't imagine in what fair world would Clawhauser have to be trapped in the basement. It tore him up to imagine him shuffling through records instead of lighting up the entire department with his bubbly smile and affable personality at the front desk. He had no idea when or how he would tell him, and he hoped that the moment would never have to arrive.  
Bogo took his job very seriously and knew that workplace crushes, especially in a police department, were inappropriate. But the minute he spotted that cheetah, he was head over heels for him. He never made his affections for Clawhauser obvious, and often avoided him due to the feelings of butterflies and light-headedness that Clawhauser caused . He sighed deeply, buckled up, started his car, and headed back towards the station. Today was turning sour very fast.


	2. Rough News to Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! Also, any comments or anything are greatly appreciated!

Bogo arrived at the station and sat in his car for 30 minutes before he could muster the courage to walk in. He couldn't bare to face Clawhauser, especially now that he had to break his heart. He slowly got out of his vehicle, and headed towards the entrance. He could see Clawhauser inside through the glass doors of the station, and instantly felt his stomach do flips and twist itself into bizarre shapes. He grunted to himself.  
“You are the police chief, dammit! Get your shit together.”  
He thrust the glass doors open, pushed out his chest and raised his head up high to avoid Clawhauser’s gaze.  
“H-h-hi Chief!” Clawhauser stammered. He hadn't even realized the chief had left the station and was caught off guard by his presence. He grinned shyly and blushed as the chief walked by.  
‘God, he is so cute when he does that.’  
“Not now, Clawhauser. I have some important, um, business to attend to.”  
Bogo quickly walked past the desk, and flew up the stairs to his office. He shut his door, and slowly slinked down into his chair. Bogo had no idea how he was going to do this. He decided he'd wait and tell Clawhauser tomorrow. He couldn't bear to do it today; he pulled out some paperwork that needed tending to, and let his mind wonder as he mindlessly scribbled into the blanks in front of him. 

The following day:

When Benjamin walked into the station that morning, he had no idea of the bad news waiting for him. He bounced into the station, donut in hand, and lazily sat down in his chair behind his desk. The day seemed to be going by quickly until around 4 o'clock when he received a message from the chief.  
“Clawhauser. I need to see you in my office immediately.”  
“Yes sir! Coming sir!” Benjamin stammered out. He was stunned: why did the chief need to see him? Was he in trouble? Had he done something wrong?  
‘He did sound pretty distressed… I better get up there quick!’  
As fast as the he could, Benjamin left his desk and headed up the stairs. He had to pause several times going up and by the time he made it to the chief’s door, he was very much out of breath and panting quite heavily. Before he had time to knock, Bogo’s voice commanded: “Come in.”  
‘Oh man. I've really done it now…’ Was all Benjamin could think as he slowly entered his boss’s office.  
“Take a seat.” Bogo gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. Benjamin nervously sat down, and stared down at his feet. His stomach seemed to be doing cartwheels. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in such an intimate situation with the chief (besides the Gazelle app incident), and the nerves caused his heart to beat incredulously fast.  
“Is um, everything okay chief? What's it you need to talk about with me?”  
Bogo fidgeted in his seat. This caused Benjamin’s nerves to go off the charts. Bogo sighed, and began speaking in a lighter tone than before.  
“There's not really an easy way of saying this, and I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'm going to lay it done straight. Yesterday, I received an email from mayor Bellwether.”  
“Okay?” Clawhauser was terrified by this point. The chief was obviously very troubled by whatever he was about to tell him. This scared Clawhauser immensely.  
“She called for your resignation from the ZPD.” Bogo sighed heavily as Clawhauser looked up at the chief, tears visible in his eyes. Those eyes dug straight to Bogo’s soul and shredded him inside.  
“W-w-what? B-but, I can't, I mean, I can't resign? This police station is my life! What did I do?” Tears were streaming down Benjamin's face. He didn't even care that he was crying in front of his crush; how could he give up everything he'd built up here?  
It took every ounce of strength within Bogo not to climb over his desk and wrap his arms around that sobbing cheetah.  
“You didn't let me finish. She called for your resignation. I wouldn't let that happen. After some, ah, friendly discussion, I convinced her that you will not, in fact, be resigning. However, I do have to have you moved to records. I'm very sorry.”  
Benjamin wiped the tears off his face and sniffled a bit.  
“I need you to take the items from your desk and move them downstairs by the end of the day. That is all.”  
Bogo shuffled around some papers, and went back to work. Clawhauser sat there a little longer, before slowly walking down the stairs. He shut the door softly behind him.  
Bogo massaged his temples. As if that whole exchange wasn't emotionally draining enough, he still had to take Officer Hopps down to Mayor Bellwether’s office (not someone he was too keen on seeing at the current moment) to square away some new movement to help prey feel safer in Zootopia. All he could think about right now however, was what could be going on in that adorable cheetah’s head. He felt like this whole ordeal was somehow his fault; he knew that wasn't true, and yet he still felt like Clawhauser's current troubles were all caused by his doings.  
‘If only I could say something to him, just let him know… no. I can't possibly tell him.’ Bogo shook his head. He flipped his office lights off, and headed outside to meet Officer Hopps.


	3. A Visitor

Clawhauser stared at the computer in front of him lazily. He could hardly focus on anything right now; it was his first day in records, and it was just as boring as it sounded. He absentmindedly munched on a pink sprinkled donut. He thought about the chief, about Bogo, what he was doing in his office…  
He hadn't seen the chief since the day before when him and Judy headed out of the station. Now that he was downstairs, he no longer got to greet the other officers as they came in. He missed getting to talk to the other animals; Benjamin was a very sociable animal, and the only other living thing downstairs was that creepy spider who hung it's web across the top of the door frame (spiders don't exactly make the best conversationalists). He sighed and decided to look at some Gazelle merchandise. Anytime Benjamin felt down, he would window shop all the different merchandise available on the Gazelle website. He knew he could never afford anything off the site; it was all far too expensive for him to ever purchase. As he scrolled aimlessly through the website, a cute little Gazelle snow globe caught his eye. He clicked on the item and gazed at it lovingly. If it weren't so expensive, he would have bought it on the spot! Just at that moment, there came a knock on his door and it came swinging open. Standing in the doorway was Chief Bogo. Clawhauser froze for a minute and began to move again when he noticed Bogo intensly studying the image of the snow globe on the screen.  
“I-I'm, uh, terribly sorry sir! I was just, uh…” But the chief stopped him there.  
“It's okay, Clawhauser. That's a pretty cute snowglobe, wouldn't you say?” Bogo sounded very calm, but behind that cool front he was terrified beyond his wits.  
“I-uh, yeah it is pretty cute.” Clawhauser blushed very deeply and began fidgeting with his hands, clearly nervous.  
“I'm sorry to have intruded you during such an important time. I just, uh, wanted to check in on how you were doing downstairs, all alone and stuff. I'm sorry again. If it makes you feel any better, I brought you a few donuts, if you, um, want some?” Bogo pulled a clear case of donuts behind his back. Clawhauser's face lit up and gladly took the donuts from Bogo. The chief smiled, and the two locked eyes for what felt like forever. Clawhauser broke the gaze when he looked down, and Bogo awkwardly laughed.   
“I guess I'll, uh, head back up. Bye, Clawhauser.” Bogo walked out and shut the door.  
“Bye chief…” The words trailed as Bogo closed the door. Benjamin's thoughts were racing a hundred miles per hour. He was confuzzled beyond belief. What had just happened? Why would Bogo have taken time out of his day to check up on Clawhauser? Did this mean the chief does care?

As Bogo walked up the stairs, he let out a huge breathe of relief. He knew he'd probably looked and acted like a fool down there. He could feel the nervous sweat all over and wiped his forhead.  
“How can a single animal make me feel like that?” Bogo said aloud to himself. His heart was racing as he climbed back up to his office. He felt like he'd been down there with Clawhauser for several hours; in reality, he'd been down there maybe 10 minutes. He had sworn to himself he wouldn't pursue Clawhauser (I mean, that would be entirely unprofessional!) but, he just couldn't help himself. He really felt like he was in love with that chubby cheetah; it was crazy, and he would never admit that thought out loud. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
“Bogo, you need to stop! You can't have feelings for a member of your force! It's... inappropriate at the least.” Bogo probably sounded crazy, talking to himself in his office. He didn't care; that cheetah was making him feel things he had never felt before, and he had no idea how to deal with these feelings.


	4. Seven is Perfect!

It had been several days since Benjamin's encounter with Bogo downstairs. Finally, Clawhauser could move his stuff back upstairs. Now that Judy and Nick had cracked the whole “predators going savage” case, he could finally be the ZPD receptionist once again. He was incredibly excited to be up there. His day just seemed to keep getting better; tonight was also the big Gazelle concert, an event he had barely managed to get tickets to! Everything seemed to be looking up for him. He finished placing all of the items from his desk into a cardboard box and headed back upstairs to his desk. As he sat the box down, he noticed something covered in wrapping paper. It was frankly a little poorly wrapped and oddly shaped. He pulled off the note that lay attached to it and read it.   
“A little welcome back gift. I hope you like it.” He was confused. Who gave him this gift? He turned the note over and saw the name.  
“Bogo? It's from Bogo??” Clawhauser was shocked! He laid the note down and picked up the gift. He tore it open. He now held in his hand the very same Gazelle snowglobe he had been looking at when the chief had visited him downstairs!  
“Oh-m-goodness!” Was all he could get out. He loved it! He turned over the snowglobe where he happened to notice yet another note. It read: ‘meet me in my office? -Bogo’  
Now Clawhauser was really confused. What did all of this mean?   
‘Could it mean… no, there's no way! And yet, in a way it kinda makes sense…’  
He set the snowglobe down lovingly and decided to see what all of this was about. He ascended the staircase up to the chief’s office.

Bogo was terrified. He couldn't think of a more terrifying moment in his life! He never thought he would actually go through with it. Was he crazy? I mean, he had decided after all to pursue Clawhauser. He didn't even care anymore; he had decided last night he didn't care about anything other than that cheetah. He waited in his office to see if Clawhauser would show. He was fidgeting like crazy, and kept arranging the items on his desk. At that moment, he heard a knock at his door, and he saw Clawhauser’s head peek through as he slowly opened the door.  
“Chief? I, um, got your gift, and the note, and thank you! But, I guess, I'm just a little… confused? What is all of this for?”  
Bogo couldn't take it anymore. He decided he go all out and speak the truth.  
“Clawhauser, since the moment I saw you, I thought that you were the cutest, sweetest, and just most incredible animal I'd ever seen. I knew from that moment that I had fallen for you. As I got to know you, those feelings only got stronger. I know, it's not professional, I mean, for a chief to feel that way about one of his subordinates. But, I don't care anymore. What I wanna say is… Will you go on a date with me, Clawhauser?”  
Clawhauser stood there speechless. The chief had just asked him on a date! His crush, had asked him to go on a date with him! He finally found his voice and responded.  
“Yes! Yes! A million times yes!” Clawhauser stood there, his eyes glowing, bursting with excitement.  
“Really?” Bogo asked.  
Clawhauser shook his head. “Where do you wanna go?”  
Bogo laughed and replied nervously.  
“I know how much you like Gazelle, and I heard you got tickets to go to her show tonight. Would you like to go with me?”  
“Awww chief! Yes! I will go with you!” Clawhauser almost couldn't contain his excitement. He was getting to see Gazelle live, and he was going there on a date with his crush! Could this day get any better?  
“Would it be okay if I picked you up at your house around, I don't know, seven?”  
“Seven is fine! Seven is perfect!” Clawhauser beamed. He went over to Bogo and gave him his address. Clawhauser wanted to bad to hug and kiss Bogo right then and there, but decided to wait. It just didn't seem like the right time to do such a thing.  
“I guess I'll see you then?” Bogo inquired. A ghost of a smile played on his lips.   
“I guess so.” Clawhauser gazed lovingly at the chief.   
“You know, when you smile, you are like, 30 times more handsome?” Clawhauser giggled. Bogo grinned even wider so that a full smile lay across his face.  
“I'll see you at seven, chief!” Clawhauser exclaimed before walking out of Bogo's office. He giddily flew down the stairs to his desk. He had to head home to get ready for his date! He packed up his things and clocked out.


	5. Concert and More

Bogo pulled up to Clawhauser's apartment at around 6:55. His apartment lay wedged between what seemed like a hundred other apartments that all looked nearly identical. Bogo looked around to see if he could find Clawhauser's, but it was all to no avail. He fidgeted in his seat and adjusted his clothes for the umpteenth time in the car mirror. He considered texting Clawhauser that he was here, but ultimately decided against it. Several minutes later, he saw that chubby cheetah bouncing along down the stairs, a wide smile plastered on his face. He opened the car door and jumped into the passenger seat giddily.  
“Are you ready for the Gazelle concert? I'm so excited; I literally can't contain my excitement!!” Clawhauser buckled up as Bogo shifted into drive. Bogo chuckled; he loved when Clawhauser talked so passionately about something. The way his eyes lit up, his over the top hand gestures, it was all almost too cute to handle for the chief. Tonight was gonna be a good night for the both of them.

It seemed like the stadium was packed! It took the two nearly 30 minutes to find a parking spot. Once they finally did, they quickly parked and practically jumped out of the car. They pulled out their tickets and headed towards the stadium.   
“I've never gotten to see Gazelle in person, you know. Everytime she has a concert, I end up watching it from my tv screen. I can't believe I'll be in the same room as her!” Clawhauser continued on about seeing his idol, whom he referred to as an “Angel with horns”. Bogo hid his excitement a little more but nevertheless was thrilled to see Gazelle in concert. Once they got into the venue, they noticed several other members of the force at the concert, including Judy and Nick. At first, this made Bogo a little uneasy. He had no idea how any of his other policeman would react to the fact he was on a date with another member of his force. Once Gazelle got on stage, however, all his worries melted away. Soon, him and Clawhauser were dancing their hearts away, not a care in the world. After several songs, the two began dancing together. They laughed and giggled as they each performed outlandish dances. Neither cared if anyone saw; they were having too much fun together to care. Too soon, the concert was over.   
“Goodnight, Zootopia!” Gazelle yelled onstage. The whole crowd went wild, Clawhauser and Bogo included.   
“Hey, how about on our way out, we stop by the gift shop? I'll buy you something…” Bogo yelled into Clawhauser's ear. Clawhauser's face lit up as he nodded vigorously. They made their way over to the shop and browsed at all the different merchandise for sale. In the end, the two ended up picking out matching tour shirts. When they got up to pay, Clawhauser offered to pay some of it, but Bogo keenly refused.  
“It's my treat” Bogo said with a sly smile. Clawhauser put his money back into his pocket, a little annoyed the chief wouldn't let him help pay, but exhilarated nonetheless. They headed back to the car, shirts in hand, and talked on and on about how great the concert was. As they walked, Clawhauser's hand brushed up against Bogo's; their hands gently clasped into each other's as they walked happily to Bogo's car. Their hands unclasped when they reached the car, but the minute they were inside their hands instinctively grabbed each other. They held hands the entire ride home, and didn't talk all too much, each animal taking in what was happening.   
‘I can't believe this is actually happening!’ Clawhauser thought to himself. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming; it sure felt like a dream to him! He realized that yes, this was in fact really happening, and gazed lovingly at the chief. The chief blushed a little bit when he noticed Clawhauser staring at him, and clasped his hand a little tighter around Clawhauser's paw. His fur felt incredibly soft in his hoof, and he gently caressed it. Bogo pulled up to Clawhauser's apartment complex in the Rainforest district, but neither made any move to get out. They sat there, wordless, hoof in paw, not moving an inch. It was like a dream they never wanted to wake up from; eventually, Bogo let go of Clawhauser's paw and got out of the car. He went around to Clawhauser's door, opened it, and helped Clawhauser out of the car. They once again clasped both of their hands together, and Bogo pulled Clawhauser in close. Their eyes locked, and they studied each other's features for what felt like an eternity; at that moment, Bogo spoke softly to Clawhauser.  
“Benjamin.” Clawhauser's fur stood on end; a chill went through his body, from his head straight to his tail.   
“Ch-chief?” It was the first time Clawhauser had ever heard Bogo say his first name to him. A warm feeling enveloped him inside.  
“I had a great time tonight. The concert was great, Gazelle was great, you… were great” Bogo said. At that moment, he leaned in and kissed Clawhauser. It didn't last very long, but it was a very passionate and loving kiss. Bogo held Clawhauser in his arms a little longer.  
“Benjamin, I have a question for you.”  
“Yes, chief?”  
“You can call me Bogo, by the way, or you know, whatever makes you comfortable,” Bogo shook his head and looked directly into Clawhauser's eyes.  
“Benjamin, will you be… my boyfriend?”  
Clawhauser was shocked by the question. Bogo took this reaction as bad, and pulled away ever so slightly. Clawhauser realized this and quickly pulled in closer. Bogo began trying to explain himself, hoping he wouldn't embarrass himself anymore than he just had.  
“I'm sorry it's so sudden… I mean, a chief, dating one of his officers… It's unheard of! But I don't care. You are all I care about. Tonight was just so great with you, and just…” At that moment, Clawhauser stopped Bogo.  
“Chie -I mean Bogo- tonight was probably the best night of my life. Not because of Gazelle (as great as she was!), you were the thing that made it incredible, Bogo.”  
Bogo's face lit up. Clawhauser giggled and gave him a quick kiss.  
“Is that a yes, then?” Bogo inquired.  
“Yes! I thought I made that clear?” Clawhauser exclaimed as he cuddled into Bogo. They remained in that position for what felt like forever, both enveloped in each other’s warmness, until Clawhauser pulled away.  
“I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Bogo” Clawhauser smiled shyly as he ran up the steps to his apartment. Bogo smiled, and headed back to his car. He felt like he was the happiest bull in the world, and he couldn't wait to spend more time with his adorable cheetah boyfriend.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! I'm considering writing more stories about these two, and I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on this! Thanks again for reading!


End file.
